Cleomaceae

Palmately compound leaves on herbs, closely related to the caper and mustard families; flowers have four clawed petals and long, widely projecting stamens that give the bloom a spidery, exploded look, ripening into a slender pod on a stalked ovary.

Once classified within the caper family on the strength of its similarly long-exserted stamens and stalked ovary, it is now recognised as its own small, mostly herbaceous family.

To check whether a plant belongs to Cleomaceae, compare the leaf arrangement, leaf type, flower symmetry, fruit type, and one distinctive marker together. A single feature can mislead; the family pattern is the combination.